Behavioral Ecology & Animal Conservation

Dr. Zink's research has focused on evolutionary and ecological processes generating the broad diversity of animal behavior, with direct applications to animal conservation. With a focus on social behaviors such as parental care, brood parasitism and cooperative breeding, he has worked with many students to investigate how these behaviors influence disease dynamics and the transmission of beneficial bacteria. His general approach has been to develop mathematical models that are applicable to a broad range of animals and to test the predictions of these (and other) models using laboratory and field experiments.